The Morning Swim Show: Ready Room Interview with Johnny Johnson, Discussing Importance of Getting Youngsters to Learn to Swim

PHOENIX, Arizona, November 10. JOHNNY Johnson, the owner of the Blue Buoy Swim School and a lifelong supporter of pool safety, is this week's Ready Room guest.

Johnson, the president of the Swim for Life Foundation, taught Olympic gold medalist Jason Lezak how to swim from age 3 to age 12. When talking about his reaction upon seeing Lezak win the gold medal in the 400 freestyle relay, Johnson said "satisfaction doesn't begin to touch on the emotions that went through my mind."

The slogan of the Blue Buoy Swim School. Johnson said, is "Great beginnings lead to great finishes." Johnson said his work with Lezak embodied those principles, as well as his work with other swimming stars, many of whom are bringing their children to his school.

Johnson talks to Show Host Brent Rutemiller about his theories behind starting children in swim schools as early as 4 months old, mentioning the one-on-one format that "can help kids reach their full potential."

More than teaching kids how to swim and possibly become competitive swimmers, Johnson said his main goal is to help kids learn to "live in the water." Learning to be comfortable in the water is a "process, not an event," he said, and the younger a child begins swim lessons, the better their chances of being ahead of the learning curve.

All the benefits of learning to swim – from the cardiovascular to the psychological – can spill out into the social aspects of a kid's life, Johnson said.

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Johnny Johnson, left, teaches Mark Schubert's grandson Luke how to swim at the Blue Buoy Swim School

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